The Taito Ward Office is a familiar presence for all residents who call this charming old corner of Tokyo home. Whether inquisitive about tourist information or the subtleties of sorting the recycling, no question is too small for the friendly staff. However, not even many locals may be aware that the ward office also houses a unique art gallery on its first floor. True to the ward’s slogan, “Ueno: A Global Capital of Culture,” the Taito Art Gallery is a verdant cultural oasis, hidden in plain sight.
The gallery houses an impressive permanent collection, including work by artists Fumio Asakura, Shoko Kanazawa, and Ryohei Miyata
From the Tokyo National Museum to the
National Museum of Western Art and the National Museum of Nature and Science,
Taito Ward boasts a long roster of world-class cultural institutions. Any
museumgoer’s list would not be complete without the Taito Art Gallery, which
offers an intimate, neighborly approach to fine art. Since opening in 2005, the
gallery has garnered a loyal following, introducing must-see masterpieces to
visitors from all walks of life, free of charge.
The gallery’s permanent collection features work by such notable personages as Fumio Asakura (the father of modern Japanese sculpture), exhibited alongside an improvisatory calligraphic work by Shoko Kanazawa (created during her keynote address at the 23rd Taito Ward Social Welfare Assembly), and a captivating metalwork by Ryohei Miyata (former president of the Tokyo University of the Arts and current commissioner for cultural affairs). Each month, the gallery also exhibits a rotating selection of Taito Mayor Award recipients, alternating with a graduate project from the Tokyo University of the Arts depicting murals from the Horyu-ji Temple and Dunhuang’s Mogao Caves.
Left: Hisho (“Flight”), by calligrapher Shoko Kanazawa Right: Nichirin (“Sun”), by metalwork artist Ryohei MiyataFumio Asakura, Cat Eating its CatchFront Center: Fumio Asakura, Untitled (Sleep) Back Right: Akito Yamasaki, Composite Surfaces and Spaces: Fallen Leaves A-6 (1996 Taito Mayor Award) Back Left: Nobuo Tsukamoto, Festival (1993 Taito Mayor Award)
According to Sachiko Iwanaga, a representative with the Taito Ward Cultural Tourism Division: “The Taito Mayor Award was established in 1981 to recognize exceptional work from each year’s graduating class at the Tokyo University of the Arts. The award is given to one Nihonga (Japanese-style) painting, and one oil painting or print. The Taito Art Gallery exhibits the newest crop of award-winning work in April and May. From June to the following March, the gallery displays a rotating exhibition that alternates between past Mayor Award winners and mural reproductions. We’ve heard that many patrons look forward to popping in and seeing the new exhibition each month.”
Taito Ward Cultural Tourism Division officials Sachiko Iwanaga (right) and Mami Amemiya
Tucked away conveniently in a neighborhood touchstone, the Taito Art Gallery is an oft-overlooked beacon of culture that illuminates a community, and brightens the day of any enlightened passersby who happen to know where to look. The next time you’re in Ueno, you can’t miss the Taito Art Gallery, a museum hidden in plain sight.
The SHOP Taito giftshop offers a wide array of souvenirs sourced from the Asakura Museum of Sculpture, Calligraphy Museum, and other museums local to Taito Ward.
Text: Takahiro Okuda Photos: Fumitaka Miyoshi
Taito Art Gallery
Address: Taito Ward Office 1st Floor 4-5-6 Higashi-Ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo Monday: 8:30 a.m. – 5:15 p.m. Tuesday: 8:30 a.m. – 5:15 p.m. Wednesday: 8:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Thursday: 8:30 a.m. – 5:15 p.m. Friday: 8:30 a.m. – 5:15 p.m. *The gallery is also open on the second Sunday of each month from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Note: Fumio Asakura’s Untitled (Sleep) will be on view until Friday, March 13th.
